Birth-control pills could add 10 million doses of hormones to our wastewater every day. Some of that estrogen may wind up in our taps.
Aria Bendix
Oct 24, 2019, 12:34 PM
birth control
Rich Pedroncelli/AP
Hormones from birth-control pills can travel through showers, toilets, and washing machines to local wastewater facilities.
In his book, "Troubled Water," activist Seth Siegel writes that birth-control pills add more than 10 million doses of synthetic estrogen to US wastewater every day.
From there, the hormones could get discharged into rivers and lakes that serve as sources of drinking water.
Only a tiny portion of the estrogen in wastewater makes its way to US taps, but Siegel still thinks we should remove it.
After we swallow a pill, it doesn't take long for its ingredients to enter local water systems. That's because our bodies generally only absorb a small portion of the dose. The rest of the pill — up to 90% — is excreted, either into the toilet as waste or through sweat that gets washed down shower drains or washing machines.
Sometimes, people even choose to flush unused pills, sending a full dose down the toilet.
The hormones then travel to a wastewater plant, and from there, they can get discharged into nearby waterways such as rivers and lakes — some of which are used as sources of drinking water.
That means the prescriptions we take most often, like birth control, could eventually wind up in tap water in trace amounts. In his new book, "Troubled Water," activist Seth Siegel says scientists don't yet understand the health effects of this potential contamination. But Siegel thinks all pharmaceutical compounds should be removed from our taps right away.
Oct 24, 2019, 12:34 PM
birth control
Rich Pedroncelli/AP
Hormones from birth-control pills can travel through showers, toilets, and washing machines to local wastewater facilities.
In his book, "Troubled Water," activist Seth Siegel writes that birth-control pills add more than 10 million doses of synthetic estrogen to US wastewater every day.
From there, the hormones could get discharged into rivers and lakes that serve as sources of drinking water.
Only a tiny portion of the estrogen in wastewater makes its way to US taps, but Siegel still thinks we should remove it.
After we swallow a pill, it doesn't take long for its ingredients to enter local water systems. That's because our bodies generally only absorb a small portion of the dose. The rest of the pill — up to 90% — is excreted, either into the toilet as waste or through sweat that gets washed down shower drains or washing machines.
Sometimes, people even choose to flush unused pills, sending a full dose down the toilet.
The hormones then travel to a wastewater plant, and from there, they can get discharged into nearby waterways such as rivers and lakes — some of which are used as sources of drinking water.
That means the prescriptions we take most often, like birth control, could eventually wind up in tap water in trace amounts. In his new book, "Troubled Water," activist Seth Siegel says scientists don't yet understand the health effects of this potential contamination. But Siegel thinks all pharmaceutical compounds should be removed from our taps right away.
It's hard to tell how much estrogen from birth control winds up in our taps
In the US, around 15 million women regularly take birth-control pills, which typically rely on a synthetic form of estrogen known as EE2. Since it's an endocrine disruptor, EE2 can interfere with reproductive hormones and development if consumed in excess or by vulnerable individuals like infants.
According to Siegel, birth-control pills add more than 10 million doses of synthetic estrogen to America's wastewater every day. That estimate is based the number of women who take oral contraceptives in the US, and assumes those women take the pill 21 days of the month and excrete around 90% of the dose into wastewater.
According to Siegel, birth-control pills add more than 10 million doses of synthetic estrogen to America's wastewater every day. That estimate is based the number of women who take oral contraceptives in the US, and assumes those women take the pill 21 days of the month and excrete around 90% of the dose into wastewater.
Very little of that estrogen actually makes its way into our taps, since most water-treatment systems filter it out along with other contaminants. A 2010 study determined that birth-control pills account for less than 1% of the total amount of estrogen found in US drinking water. But since local water systems don't test for EE2, the study's authors noted, it's hard to say for sure how much of the hormone is in our water.
Most of the estrogen in drinking water comes from other sources, such as livestock that excrete natural estrogen, which can travel through soil and into local groundwater.
But Siegel argues in his book that livestock can't solely be responsible for the estrogen in our wastewater, since other pharmaceutical compounds, like those used to make antidepressants, make it there as well.
"No one is giving a cow Zoloft," Siegel told Business Insider. "The only possible source of that is through the wastewater. That's why it's so relevant, so scary."
That doesn't mean women should stop taking the pill
(BLUEPILLED RETARDED SCIENTIST)Some water experts, Siegel said, abide by the adage that "the solution to pollution is dilution." In other words, dumping water that contains pharmaceutical compounds into larger bodies of water dilutes the concentrations of hormones enough to minimize their threat to humans or the environment.
But Siegel said that even in the purest bodies of water, like the Great Lakes, scientists have found residues of antidepressants like Prozac in the bodies of local fish.
fish AP Photo/Steven Senne
In the northeast, scientists have discovered that estrogen in rivers and lakes can cause male fish to develop female biomarkers like ovaries. Other studies have shown that exposure to EE2 has led fish to become less fertile across generations.
Scientists don't know if these findings have any implications for human health, but Diana Aga, a chemical-pollution expert at the State University of New York at Buffalo, told Siegel that it's possible for similar effects to crop up among "more complex creatures."
"There's every reason to believe that estrogen and the pharmaceutical compounds that we're ingesting in micro-quantities are having an effect," Siegel said. "Why wouldn't it be possible that a newborn or fetus, or a three-year-old getting an irregular dosage, might not see some effect on their brain function or brain development?"
The solution, he said, isn't to stop making or taking medications. It's to make sure these compounds are deliberately removed at water-treatment plants.
"Pharmaceutical products have done great things for America's health. I am not saying that we should ban all these things," Siegel said. "What I am saying is that we should get all the benefits of these products and also get pure drinking water. We can do both."
In the northeast, scientists have discovered that estrogen in rivers and lakes can cause male fish to develop female biomarkers like ovaries. Other studies have shown that exposure to EE2 has led fish to become less fertile across generations.
Scientists don't know if these findings have any implications for human health, but Diana Aga, a chemical-pollution expert at the State University of New York at Buffalo, told Siegel that it's possible for similar effects to crop up among "more complex creatures."
"There's every reason to believe that estrogen and the pharmaceutical compounds that we're ingesting in micro-quantities are having an effect," Siegel said. "Why wouldn't it be possible that a newborn or fetus, or a three-year-old getting an irregular dosage, might not see some effect on their brain function or brain development?"
The solution, he said, isn't to stop making or taking medications. It's to make sure these compounds are deliberately removed at water-treatment plants.
"Pharmaceutical products have done great things for America's health. I am not saying that we should ban all these things," Siegel said. "What I am saying is that we should get all the benefits of these products and also get pure drinking water. We can do both."
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/bir...gen-drinking-water-health-effects-2019-10?amp
Troubled Water: Estrogen and its doppelgängers
We would be wise to begin making use of technologies already in hand to reduce the estrogen that gets into our source water
Seth M. SiegelWe would be wise to begin making use of technologies already in hand to reduce the estrogen that gets into our source water
October 28, 2019
One pill in particular—a pill so iconic in American life that it is simply called "The Pill"—contributes, in the aggregate, to a significant amount of hormones in wastewater and, potentially, in drinking water.
Since its introduction in 1960, birth control pills have, in one form or another, been a staple prescription drug.
Today, nearly 27 percent of American women who are avoiding pregnancy take a birth control pill, a dose of synthetic estrogen that tricks a woman's body's endocrine system and suppresses ovulation. That one variety of pill, taken for 21 days out of every 28, adds over 10 million doses to America's wastewater every day.
In addition to the women taking birth control pills, there are millions of other women beyond childbearing age who take estrogen and other hormone supplements to help moderate the effects of menopause.
image.jpg
Even after a series of cancer scares led to a nearly 60 percent drop in the use of estrogen replacement therapy, more than four million American women still take a daily regimen of hormonal supplements to mitigate menopausal conditions.
At one point, though, in the early 2000s, more than 20 million women in the U.S. were taking hormones as birth control pills, as a means of regulating menstruation, or to moderate the effects of menopause.
Currently, usage by those groups has been reduced to a still sizable total population of around 15 million regular users, but at whatever level of usage, all of these pills add to the total residue of estrogen hormones in the water.
Since women aren't the only ones ingesting these chemicals, the volume of hormones that can be contaminating our water is far higher. Livestock are fed estrogen or other similar hormones to promote growth and, in the case of dairy cows, they are often treated with hormones to boost milk production.
Similar to humans, within hours of these millions of animals ingesting these drugs, the hormones are eliminated.
In addition, cows and other female livestock naturally produce estrogen, and this is also excreted.
Whether transported to a local waterway after some form of water treatment at a feedlot or eliminated as animal waste and absorbed by the soil to percolate into groundwater, the residues of all of this estrogen also contribute to the total.
Beyond estrogen from birth control pills and farm animals, there is another potentially massive source of estrogen that is likely getting into source water.
Dr. Luke Iwanowicz, a U.S. Geological Survey research biologist, explained how some benign lab creations are also adding to the threat of estrogen, or estrogen-like, exposure.
"There are many chemicals designed for specific, non-estrogenic biological functions," says Iwanowicz, "but by coincidence they, too, function like estrogens, usually 'weak estrogens.' This is generally the case because the geometry [of the newly designed chemical] is similar enough to estrogen that they share some biological function. These are chemical doppelgängers of sorts."
Although these chemicals were engineered in labs for an entirely different purpose than to serve as or to mimic estrogen, "they have the capacity," Iwanowicz says, "to interfere with the normal functioning of the body, including reproductive and sexual health, as well as other possible consequences, like obesity, diabetes, and behavioral issues."
These estrogenic compounds include many herbicides and pesticides as well as some plastic products, cosmetics, and industrial solvents, among others. And although they are not as "bioactive as pure estrogen, they get into the water supply in great quantities," Iwanowicz said.
Although weaker as an estrogen than a chemical designed as estrogen, such as the birth control pill, these estrogenic compounds may be of more concern than estrogen itself.
Estrogen derived from pills and animal feed gets degraded "over weeks or months, and certainly within years," Iwanowicz said, "but because many [of these chemicals] are designed to withstand sunlight and a variety of weather conditions, they don't degrade as easily as does the estrogen in a birth control pill. Those estrogenic chemicals can be with us for a long time."
While the effect on humans of all of this estrogen and estrogen-like compounds in surface water is still unknown, Iwanowicz and his fish biologist colleagues have seen what effect it seems to be having on fish. Those exposed to these chemicals have developed a range of abnormalities, and has resulted in suppressed fertility (especially in males) and population collapse.
If those fish are harbingers of things to come for humans and other species—something that can only be known with more research—we would be wise to begin making use of technologies already in hand to reduce the estrogen that gets into our source water, and from there into our drinking water.
Since its introduction in 1960, birth control pills have, in one form or another, been a staple prescription drug.
Today, nearly 27 percent of American women who are avoiding pregnancy take a birth control pill, a dose of synthetic estrogen that tricks a woman's body's endocrine system and suppresses ovulation. That one variety of pill, taken for 21 days out of every 28, adds over 10 million doses to America's wastewater every day.
In addition to the women taking birth control pills, there are millions of other women beyond childbearing age who take estrogen and other hormone supplements to help moderate the effects of menopause.
image.jpg
Even after a series of cancer scares led to a nearly 60 percent drop in the use of estrogen replacement therapy, more than four million American women still take a daily regimen of hormonal supplements to mitigate menopausal conditions.
At one point, though, in the early 2000s, more than 20 million women in the U.S. were taking hormones as birth control pills, as a means of regulating menstruation, or to moderate the effects of menopause.
Currently, usage by those groups has been reduced to a still sizable total population of around 15 million regular users, but at whatever level of usage, all of these pills add to the total residue of estrogen hormones in the water.
Since women aren't the only ones ingesting these chemicals, the volume of hormones that can be contaminating our water is far higher. Livestock are fed estrogen or other similar hormones to promote growth and, in the case of dairy cows, they are often treated with hormones to boost milk production.
Similar to humans, within hours of these millions of animals ingesting these drugs, the hormones are eliminated.
In addition, cows and other female livestock naturally produce estrogen, and this is also excreted.
Whether transported to a local waterway after some form of water treatment at a feedlot or eliminated as animal waste and absorbed by the soil to percolate into groundwater, the residues of all of this estrogen also contribute to the total.
Beyond estrogen from birth control pills and farm animals, there is another potentially massive source of estrogen that is likely getting into source water.
Dr. Luke Iwanowicz, a U.S. Geological Survey research biologist, explained how some benign lab creations are also adding to the threat of estrogen, or estrogen-like, exposure.
"There are many chemicals designed for specific, non-estrogenic biological functions," says Iwanowicz, "but by coincidence they, too, function like estrogens, usually 'weak estrogens.' This is generally the case because the geometry [of the newly designed chemical] is similar enough to estrogen that they share some biological function. These are chemical doppelgängers of sorts."
Although these chemicals were engineered in labs for an entirely different purpose than to serve as or to mimic estrogen, "they have the capacity," Iwanowicz says, "to interfere with the normal functioning of the body, including reproductive and sexual health, as well as other possible consequences, like obesity, diabetes, and behavioral issues."
These estrogenic compounds include many herbicides and pesticides as well as some plastic products, cosmetics, and industrial solvents, among others. And although they are not as "bioactive as pure estrogen, they get into the water supply in great quantities," Iwanowicz said.
Although weaker as an estrogen than a chemical designed as estrogen, such as the birth control pill, these estrogenic compounds may be of more concern than estrogen itself.
Estrogen derived from pills and animal feed gets degraded "over weeks or months, and certainly within years," Iwanowicz said, "but because many [of these chemicals] are designed to withstand sunlight and a variety of weather conditions, they don't degrade as easily as does the estrogen in a birth control pill. Those estrogenic chemicals can be with us for a long time."
While the effect on humans of all of this estrogen and estrogen-like compounds in surface water is still unknown, Iwanowicz and his fish biologist colleagues have seen what effect it seems to be having on fish. Those exposed to these chemicals have developed a range of abnormalities, and has resulted in suppressed fertility (especially in males) and population collapse.
If those fish are harbingers of things to come for humans and other species—something that can only be known with more research—we would be wise to begin making use of technologies already in hand to reduce the estrogen that gets into our source water, and from there into our drinking water.
Source: https://www.ehn.org/troubled-water-estrogen-and-its-doppelgangers-2641102160.html
Endocrine Disruptors in Water and Their Effects on the Reproductive System
Endocrine Disruptors in Water and Their Effects on the Reproductive System
Anthropogenic contaminants in water can impose risks to reproductive health. Most of these compounds are known to be endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). EDCs can impact the endocrine system and subsequently impair the development and fertility of non-human ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Birth control hormone is making its way into streams and hindering fish's ability to reproduce, study reveals
Fish exposed to 5 nanograms per liter of synthetic estrogen had fewer young and more females
Estrogen has been found in streams at levels higher than 60 nanograms per liter
Up to 90 percent of birth control is unmetabolized and flushed down the toilet
Sewage treatment plants aren't designed to remove pharmaceuticals
By DAN AVERY FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 00:12 BST, 24 October 2020 | UPDATED: 00:27 BST, 24 October 2020
Water polluted with even tiny amounts of human hormones can impact marine life, according to a new study that found freshwater fish exposed to estrogen produced fewer offspring.
Synthetic estrogen from oral contraceptives has been found in waterways near sewage treatment plants.
Biologists looking to see if those hormones affect fish exposed them to trace amounts of a synthetic version of Ethinylestradiol, used in most birth control pills.
They found less than a tenth of the concentration of Ethinylestradiol found in some streams was enough to lead to smaller populations and fewer male offsprings.
Scroll down for video
Fish exposed to estrogen produce fewer offspring, study reveals
Biologists at the University of Cincinnati found fish exposed to just traces of estrogen produced less offspring. The birth control hormone has been found in streams at levels more than ten times as high.
According to a study in the journal Aquatic Toxicology, fish exposed to even 5 nanograms per liter of synthetic Ethinylestradiol produced fewer offspring than those that weren't and gave birth to more females than males.
Ethinylestradiol has been found in streams at levels higher than 60 nanograms per liter.
In addition to birth control, it's used as menopausal hormone therapy, to prevent osteoporosis and as a palliative treatment for breast cancer.
Our bodies generally only absorb a small amount of the medication we ingest, the rest - up to 90 percent - gets flushed down the toilet when we go to the bathroom.
'When women on birth control or hormone therapy go to the bathroom, it gets flushed into wastewater treatment plants,' said biologist Latonya Jackson (right).
'Our wastewater treatment systems are good at removing a lot of things, but they weren't designed to remove pharmaceuticals,' said lead author Latonya Jackson, a biologist at the University of Cincinnati. 'So when women on birth control or hormone therapy go to the bathroom, it gets flushed into wastewater treatment plants.'
For her experiments, Jackson used least killifish, a relative of the guppy.
Killifish are common, tiny and easy to catch, making them easy to study without taking up a lot of space.
They're a popular target for predators, which they make up for by giving birth frequently, about every 28 days.
+4
View gallery
-
Least killifish produced fewer offspring after being exposed to less than a tenth of the estrogen concentration found in some streams near sewage plants
They're also rare for fish in that they have a placenta and give birth to live young.
Jackson's team found that chronic exposure to Ethinylestradiol led to smaller populations and a gender ratio of more females than males.
Next she'll be working with the Environmental Protection Agency to see if the hormones affected the genetics of the fish's offspring.
Around 15 million women regularly take birth-control pills in the US alone, most of them using Ethinylestradiol.
'Our wastewater treatment systems are good at removing a lot of things, but they weren't designed to remove pharmaceuticals,' Jackson said. 'So when women on birth control or hormone therapy go to the bathroom, it gets flushed into wastewater treatment plants.'
While a 2010 study found birth-control pills accounted for less than one percent of the estrogen found in US drinking water, local water systems don't test for Ethinylestradiol.
And estrogen enters the waterways from other sources, like livestock and dairy products.
Previous studies have found estrogen in rivers and lakes leads male fish to develop ovaries and other female characteristics.
A 2015 study from Washington State University found a link between Ethinylestradiol and the growing decline in sperm counts, which have plummeted up to 38 percent in a decade.
'There's every reason to believe that estrogen and the pharmaceutical compounds that we're ingesting in micro-quantities are having an effect,' activist Seth Siegel told Business Insider.
'Why wouldn't it be possible that a newborn or fetus, or a 3-year-old getting an irregular dosage, might not see some effect on their brain function or brain development?'
'Our wastewater treatment systems are good at removing a lot of things, but they weren't designed to remove pharmaceuticals,' said lead author Latonya Jackson, a biologist at the University of Cincinnati. 'So when women on birth control or hormone therapy go to the bathroom, it gets flushed into wastewater treatment plants.'
For her experiments, Jackson used least killifish, a relative of the guppy.
Killifish are common, tiny and easy to catch, making them easy to study without taking up a lot of space.
They're a popular target for predators, which they make up for by giving birth frequently, about every 28 days.
+4
View gallery
They're also rare for fish in that they have a placenta and give birth to live young.
Jackson's team found that chronic exposure to Ethinylestradiol led to smaller populations and a gender ratio of more females than males.
Next she'll be working with the Environmental Protection Agency to see if the hormones affected the genetics of the fish's offspring.
Around 15 million women regularly take birth-control pills in the US alone, most of them using Ethinylestradiol.
'Our wastewater treatment systems are good at removing a lot of things, but they weren't designed to remove pharmaceuticals,' Jackson said. 'So when women on birth control or hormone therapy go to the bathroom, it gets flushed into wastewater treatment plants.'
While a 2010 study found birth-control pills accounted for less than one percent of the estrogen found in US drinking water, local water systems don't test for Ethinylestradiol.
And estrogen enters the waterways from other sources, like livestock and dairy products.
Previous studies have found estrogen in rivers and lakes leads male fish to develop ovaries and other female characteristics.
A 2015 study from Washington State University found a link between Ethinylestradiol and the growing decline in sperm counts, which have plummeted up to 38 percent in a decade.
'There's every reason to believe that estrogen and the pharmaceutical compounds that we're ingesting in micro-quantities are having an effect,' activist Seth Siegel told Business Insider.
'Why wouldn't it be possible that a newborn or fetus, or a 3-year-old getting an irregular dosage, might not see some effect on their brain function or brain development?'
'Our wastewater treatment systems are good at removing a lot of things, but they weren't designed to remove pharmaceuticals,' said lead author Latonya Jackson, a biologist at the University of Cincinnati. 'So when women on birth control or hormone therapy go to the bathroom, it gets flushed into wastewater treatment plants.'
For her experiments, Jackson used least killifish, a relative of the guppy.
Killifish are common, tiny and easy to catch, making them easy to study without taking up a lot of space.
They're a popular target for predators, which they make up for by giving birth frequently, about every 28 days.
+4
View gallery
-
Least killifish produced fewer offspring after being exposed to less than a tenth of the estrogen concentration found in some streams near sewage plants
They're also rare for fish in that they have a placenta and give birth to live young.
Jackson's team found that chronic exposure to Ethinylestradiol led to smaller populations and a gender ratio of more females than males.
Next she'll be working with the Environmental Protection Agency to see if the hormones affected the genetics of the fish's offspring.
Around 15 million women regularly take birth-control pills in the US alone, most of them using Ethinylestradiol.
'Our wastewater treatment systems are good at removing a lot of things, but they weren't designed to remove pharmaceuticals,' Jackson said. 'So when women on birth control or hormone therapy go to the bathroom, it gets flushed into wastewater treatment plants.'
While a 2010 study found birth-control pills accounted for less than one percent of the estrogen found in US drinking water, local water systems don't test for Ethinylestradiol.
And estrogen enters the waterways from other sources, like livestock and dairy products.
Previous studies have found estrogen in rivers and lakes leads male fish to develop ovaries and other female characteristics.
A 2015 study from Washington State University found a link between Ethinylestradiol and the growing decline in sperm counts, which have plummeted up to 38 percent in a decade.
'There's every reason to believe that estrogen and the pharmaceutical compounds that we're ingesting in micro-quantities are having an effect,' activist Seth Siegel told Business Insider.
'Our wastewater treatment systems are good at removing a lot of things, but they weren't designed to remove pharmaceuticals,' said lead author Latonya Jackson, a biologist at the University of Cincinnati. 'So when women on birth control or hormone therapy go to the bathroom, it gets flushed into wastewater treatment plants.'
For her experiments, Jackson used least killifish, a relative of the guppy.
www.dailymail.co.uk
Killifish are common, tiny and easy to catch, making them easy to study without taking up a lot of space.
They're a popular target for predators, which they make up for by giving birth frequently, about every 28 days.
+4
View gallery
They're also rare for fish in that they have a placenta and give birth to live young.
Jackson's team found that chronic exposure to Ethinylestradiol led to smaller populations and a gender ratio of more females than males.
Next she'll be working with the Environmental Protection Agency to see if the hormones affected the genetics of the fish's offspring.
Around 15 million women regularly take birth-control pills in the US alone, most of them using Ethinylestradiol.
'Our wastewater treatment systems are good at removing a lot of things, but they weren't designed to remove pharmaceuticals,' Jackson said. 'So when women on birth control or hormone therapy go to the bathroom, it gets flushed into wastewater treatment plants.'
While a 2010 study found birth-control pills accounted for less than one percent of the estrogen found in US drinking water, local water systems don't test for Ethinylestradiol.
And estrogen enters the waterways from other sources, like livestock and dairy products.
Previous studies have found estrogen in rivers and lakes leads male fish to develop ovaries and other female characteristics.
A 2015 study from Washington State University found a link between Ethinylestradiol and the growing decline in sperm counts, which have plummeted up to 38 percent in a decade.
'There's every reason to believe that estrogen and the pharmaceutical compounds that we're ingesting in micro-quantities are having an effect,' activist Seth Siegel told Business Insider.
'Our wastewater treatment systems are good at removing a lot of things, but they weren't designed to remove pharmaceuticals,' said lead author Latonya Jackson, a biologist at the University of Cincinnati. 'So when women on birth control or hormone therapy go to the bathroom, it gets flushed into wastewater treatment plants.'
For her experiments, Jackson used least killifish, a relative of the guppy.
Fish exposed to estrogen produce fewer offspring, study reveals
Biologists at the University of Cincinnati found fish exposed to just traces of estrogen produced less offspring. The birth control hormone has been found in streams at levels more than ten times as high.
Killifish are common, tiny and easy to catch, making them easy to study without taking up a lot of space.
They're a popular target for predators, which they make up for by giving birth frequently, about every 28 days.
+4
View gallery
-
Least killifish produced fewer offspring after being exposed to less than a tenth of the estrogen concentration found in some streams near sewage plants
They're also rare for fish in that they have a placenta and give birth to live young.
Jackson's team found that chronic exposure to Ethinylestradiol led to smaller populations and a gender ratio of more females than males.
Next she'll be working with the Environmental Protection Agency to see if the hormones affected the genetics of the fish's offspring.
Around 15 million women regularly take birth-control pills in the US alone, most of them using Ethinylestradiol.
'Our wastewater treatment systems are good at removing a lot of things, but they weren't designed to remove pharmaceuticals,' Jackson said. 'So when women on birth control or hormone therapy go to the bathroom, it gets flushed into wastewater treatment plants.'
While a 2010 study found birth-control pills accounted for less than one percent of the estrogen found in US drinking water, local water systems don't test for Ethinylestradiol.
And estrogen enters the waterways from other sources, like livestock and dairy products.
Previous studies have found estrogen in rivers and lakes leads male fish to develop ovaries and other female characteristics.
A 2015 study from Washington State University found a link between Ethinylestradiol and the growing decline in sperm counts, which have plummeted up to 38 percent in a decade.
'There's every reason to believe that estrogen and the pharmaceutical compounds that we're ingesting in micro-quantities are having an effect,' activist Seth Siegel told Business Insider.
'Why wouldn't it be possible that a newborn or fetus, or a 3-year-old getting an irregular dosage, might not see some effect on their brain function or brain development?'
They're also rare for fish in that they have a placenta and give birth to live young.
Jackson's team found that chronic exposure to Ethinylestradiol led to smaller populations and a gender ratio of more females than males.
Next she'll be working with the Environmental Protection Agency to see if the hormones affected the genetics of the fish's offspring.
Around 15 million women regularly take birth-control pills in the US alone, most of them using Ethinylestradiol.
'Our wastewater treatment systems are good at removing a lot of things, but they weren't designed to remove pharmaceuticals,' Jackson said. 'So when women on birth control or hormone therapy go to the bathroom, it gets flushed into wastewater treatment plants.'
While a 2010 study found birth-control pills accounted for less than one percent of the estrogen found in US drinking water, local water systems don't test for Ethinylestradiol.
And estrogen enters the waterways from other sources, like livestock and dairy products.
Previous studies have found estrogen in rivers and lakes leads male fish to develop ovaries and other female characteristics.
A 2015 study from Washington State University found a link between Ethinylestradiol and the growing decline in sperm counts, which have plummeted up to 38 percent in a decade.
'There's every reason to believe that estrogen and the pharmaceutical compounds that we're ingesting in micro-quantities are having an effect,' activist Seth Siegel told Business Insider.
'Why wouldn't it be possible that a newborn or fetus, or a 3-year-old getting an irregular dosage, might not see some effect on their brain function or brain development?'
Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/science...eams-produce-fewer-offspring-study-finds.html
Other two:
Birth-control pills could add 10 million doses of hormones to our wastewater every day. Some of that estrogen may wind up in our taps.
Hormones from birth-control pills travel through our showers, toilets, and washing machines to local wastewater facilities.
www.businessinsider.com
Bonus:
Coincidence or not? Male sperm quality crashed in the last 30 years after xenoestrogens like Bisphenol A from plastic softeners entered the ecosystem. After estrogen pill residue contaminated tap water. Incidence of female traits like gynecomastia and low testosterone in men have become ~1000% more common in the last few decades.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7431205/
Heredity or genetics don't change physical traits this fast, that would take tens or hundreds of thousands of years.
It's the polluted world we live in.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7431205/
Heredity or genetics don't change physical traits this fast, that would take tens or hundreds of thousands of years.
It's the polluted world we live in.
TLDR my newest memes is brutally accurate:
@Caesercel
@The Enforcer
@Komesarj
@Fat Link
Please put this on must read content. This is how retarded sex haver ruining us.
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